Jon Heyman has a report that makes baseball sense if and only if you still think of Ichiro as ICHIRO! and don’t acknowledge that he’s a fifth outfielder:

The Yankees are said willing to offset a part of Ichiro Suzuki’s $6.5-million salary in the right deal, sources said.

The Yankees would seek to receive a good prospect back but are said by rival executives amendable to paying down a portion of his $6.5 million salary under those circumstances.

Not sure what kind of “good prospect” one gets for a 40 year-old guy who hit .262/.297/.342 last season. It seems to me the only possible trade is “our moderately expensive bench veteran for your moderately expensive bench veteran.”

Cashman ought to rethink this. At least until Ellsbury is fully recovered. It is hard to see how the Yanks are going to procure anybody of significant value, eating salary or not, and when one has options of Beltran and Soriano at the corner outfield spots, the still fleet Ichiro would look a lot better out there in the late innings than either of the aforementioned duo.

Offensively, I agree. But Ichiro is still a very good defender who can play CF if needed, although Gardner would probably be a better choice, and he can still steal a base upon request.

Plus, his 2013 numbers may not be a fair representation of his talents. If he can near his 2012 output for the Yanks, those AAAA guys wouldn’t be optimal.

18thstreet - Mar 24, 2014 at 11:26 AM

I think Ichiro still has defensive value, and can probably lay down a well-placed bunt in his sleep.

But it’s hard to see how it matters whether the Yankees 5th outfielder (assuming Soriano is the 4th outfielder) is Ichiro or some guy I’ve never heard of. They would have been better off never signing him, but here’s how bad 2013 was for the Yankees: according to fangraphs, he was their 5th most valuable position player, and one of only 5 position players to have a WAR greater than one.

Yeah I wouldnt do it. He is without a doubt the best fielder they have. Soriano is only a DH now and Belly is not doing a full year. I like the young guys but they arent going to be better then Itchy. If anything I would be looking to trade Tex and Gardner. Get what value you can out of those 2. I would honestly pay Tex whole salary if it meant getting him out of the line up. Can you option a 20 mil 1st baseman to the minors?

spudchukar - Mar 24, 2014 at 11:17 AM

Yes, Almonte is having a good Spring. But riding the pine may not be the ultimate developmental option for the youngster. If he would garner significant playing time then Ichiro would be more expendable, but the few ABs a late inning guy gets won’t help him in his progression.

Oh come on! You know all that ink is bad for you. We’re not talking leafy greens here. If the Yankees want to eat some salary I’ll trade them my celery for Ichiro’s unwanted salary. I could use a portion of 6.5 MM dollars.

Why not? (Well, besides the fact that they couldn’t get squat for him)

I could see how you might be of the opinion that they’d be be better off with a veteran player like him who really knows how to play the game right over some random minor leaguer as your 5th outfielder. But I can’t see while you’d feel so strongly over it to go into all caps and multiple exclamation points mode.

The statement that the Yankees are willing to “offset part of Ichiro’s salary” in the “right deal” is ridiculous on so many levels. No one in their right mind would trade anything of even slight value for a 40-year old outfielder who played a full season last year and still only produced 1.4 WAR. On top of that, the statement implies that the Yankees would only eat part of his 6.5M salary. What would the Yankees have to get in the “right deal”? To me, Ichiro is a sunk cost. This is all a dance ’til they end up releasing him.

I hate to pile on an all-time great, but Ichiro NEVER had power, nor did he ever draw walks. What make him great was his unbelievable batting average (which created a very good OBP) and his fielding. I think the thing that’s changed for him is that he no longer has enough speed to leg out the infield singles.

He’s like a slow power hitter whose flyballs can’t reach the fence any more. No, wait. He’s the opposite of that. But with his most important skill vanishing, it’s hard to see how he has much value to anyone.

Ichiro is still among the most dangerous hitters in the league, and top-notch leadoff man. The problem is that Clueless Joe Girardo shuffles his lineup daily, like a fool. Ichiro got no consistency last year thanks to Girardi batting him 7th one day, then benching him in favor of Ben Francisco, then batting him 8th, etc. And now they wanna get rid of Ichiro? Should get rid of Girardi instead., Even people who whine about Ichiro “only” hitting .260 last year have to realize that .260 was among the best averages on the Yankees!

Well let’s see. Could it be that two out of their three outfielders — Curtis Granderson and NIck Swisher — contracts were up at the end of the season and the Yankees had no intention of resigning them. Also, their third outfielder Brett Gardner played all of 12 games that season. The Yankees needed outfield help badly and were trying to make the playoffs, which they did.